Gaganjeet Bhullar fired a three-under 69 to share the first-round lead at the AM Green IGPL Maritime Invitational 2026, held at the East Point Golf Club in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, 3 November. The 11-time Asian Tour winner is joined at the top by Deepak Yadav, Ravi Kumar, and Kanav Chauhan — three players still searching for their maiden IGPL victories.

Bhullar Sets the Pace

Playing East Point Golf Club for the first time on his maiden visit to Visakhapatnam, Bhullar demonstrated why experience matters on unfamiliar terrain. He began from the fourth hole, reeling off five successive pars before draining his first birdie on the ninth. A run of three consecutive birdies from the 15th propelled him to three-under, despite a lone bogey on the 18th — his 15th hole of the day. Three closing pars sealed his round of 69.

'I played solid and am happy with my game. I missed just two greens and three fairways and had a bogey on one of them. Never played on this course before, and in fact it is my first visit to the city, and I am loving it. We were also unable to get a practice round, but that's golf, and we need to adapt to all this,' Bhullar said.

A five-time IGPL winner and current leader in the Season 2 individual standings, Bhullar is on track for back-to-back titles on the IGPL Tour after his recent triumph at the IGPL Krishna Invitational. Representing Vimtra Chennai Lions, he also stressed the importance of the team format to his motivation. 'More than anything, I'm motivated to play well for my team, Vimtra Chennai Lions GC. Even today, as soon as I finished my round, I spoke to my teammates,' he added.

Challenging Conditions After Heavy Rain

The opening day was played under difficult circumstances. Heavy rain in the days preceding the tournament left the course soft and preferred lies were introduced, allowing players to lift and clean their balls on the fairways. Practice was largely unavailable on Monday due to wet weather, and a shotgun start was adopted as organisers braced for further rain.

Olympian Udayan Mane, who carded an eventful round featuring six birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey to finish tied seventh at even-par 72, acknowledged the fortunate nature of completing play. 'I think we're just lucky to have gotten in a round today after so much rain over the last two days and before. I woke up thinking, we're not going to play today, but to get in a full 18 holes without any rain was great. The course was very slushy, but all of us must adapt and find a way to put the ball in the hole,' he said.

The Co-Leaders in Focus

Deepak Yadav, the 24-year-old Delhi Golf Club player trained by Arjuna Awardee Nonita Lall Qureshi, returned a bogey-free 69, leveraging previous experience at East Point where he has twice finished runner-up in Andhra Pradesh amateur events on the IGU circuit. Playing only his third IGPL event, he picked up birdies on the 17th, seventh, and 13th after starting from the 14th.

'Having played here before helped me a lot. I knew what to expect, but still adapting to the conditions was important. I am very happy to get back without any bogeys for my three-under 69,' Yadav said, adding that competing alongside established professionals like Bhullar would sharpen his development.

Ravi Kumar, who joined the professional ranks via the IGPL earlier this season, also signed for a 69. Starting from the sixth hole, he picked up birdies on the seventh, 18th, first, and fourth, with his only dropped shot on the par-three 16th. Kanav Chauhan, the 2025 All India Junior champion who turned professional earlier this year, completed the four-way tie with a three-under 69. He recovered from a bogey on the 10th with an immediate birdie on the 11th, then rattled off three successive birdies from the 15th.

Rest of the Leaderboard

Experienced campaigner Yashas Chandra sits fifth at two-under 70. Nayanika Sanga, 22, is the leading woman in the field, opening with a one-under 71 to occupy sixth place. Arjun Prasad and Harshjeet Sethie carded even-par 72s to join Mane in a tie for seventh. Pukhraj Singh Gill, who is set to play on the Asian Tour in 2027, made a late recovery to finish with a one-over 73, tied 10th alongside Sachin Baisoya and Tusshar Pannu.

With three more rounds to play and the course still potentially vulnerable to rain, the leaderboard remains wide open as the tournament progresses through Visakhapatnam.